Paleontology – Species Profile: Utahraptor

Paleontology – Species Profile: Utahraptor
On this episode of Natures Talk Show Fine Art of Paleontology,our hosts will be doing a species profile on Utahraptor.Utahraptor is a genus of theropod dinosaurs. It contains a single species, Utahraptor ostrommaysorum, which is the largest known member of the family Dromaeosauridae. Fossil specimens date to the upper Barremian stage of the early Cretaceous period.

Having the unique distinction as one of the largest raptors that have ever lived, Utahraptor is a dinosaur that lived approximately 125 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period. It was first discovered in Utah in 1991, and as you may have guessed, its name is a reference to the state in which it was discovered.

Utahraptor was almost 25 feet long and weighed over a ton. This makes it about ten times heavier than the average raptor, and in the same neighborhood as a polar bear. This raptor also had a nine inch claw that it could eviscerate herbivores with. This dinosaur is also believed to have had a warm blooded metabolism like a modern bird.